:For other people named Edward Smith, see Edward Smith (disambiguation).


rightCaptain Edward John Smith, RD (January 27, 1850 – April 15, 1912) was the captain of the RMS Titanic when it sank in 1912. He, and his wife Eleanor, had a daughter Helen Melville Smith. There is a statue to his legacy in Beacon Park, Lichfield http://www.titanic-titanic.com/titanic_memorial-edward_john_smith.shtml .

History

Born in Well Street, Hanley in Stoke-on-Trent, the son of Edward and Catherine Smith, he attended Etruria British School. After leaving school, he worked briefly at the Etruria Forge, but seems to have decided from an early age to go to sea. In 1867, he signed on as 'Boy' aboard the Senator Weber, owned by the Liverpool shippers Andrew Gibson & Co., and commanded by his half-brother Joseph Hancock. After serving aboard several other square riggers he gained a masters certificate on May 26, 1875, at the age of 25, allowing him to command his own vessel.

White Star

His first command was that of the Lizzie Fennell, and he joined the White Star Shipping Line in March 1880 as a Junior Officer. He served aboard the company's liners to Australia and to New York, where he quickly rose in stature. In 1887, Smith received his first White Star assignment, as the Fourth Officer of the Celtic. In 1888, Smith earned his Master's Certificate and joined the Royal Naval Reserve (thus enabling him to append his name with "RNR"), qualifying as a full Lieutenant. This meant that in a time of war, Smith and his ship could be called upon to serve by the Royal Navy.

Bigger commands

Smith was Majestic's captain for nine years commencing in 1895. When the Boer War started in 1899, Smith and the Majestic were called upon to transport troops to Cape Colony. Two trips were made to South Africa, both without incident, and for his service, King Edward VII awarded Smith the Transport Medal showing the "Africa clasp" in 1903. Smith was regarded as a "safe captain".

In 1904, he was given command of the largest ship in the world at the time, White Star's new Baltic. Her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York, sailing 29 June 1904, went without incident. After three years with the Baltic, Smith was given his second new "Big Ship", the Adriatic. Once again, the maiden voyage went without incident.

During his command of the Adriatic, Smith received the Royal Naval Reserve's "Long Service" medal along with a promotion at White Star to Commander. He would now sign his name as "Commander Edward John Smith, R.D.", with "R.D." meaning "Royal Distinction."

Olympic class command

Smith had built a reputation as one of the world's most experienced sea captains, and so was called upon to take first command of the lead ship in a new class of ocean liners, the Olympic — again, the largest vessel in the world. The maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York was successfully concluded on 21 June 1911, but as the ship was docking in New York harbor, it experienced a small incident which would foreshadow future events. Docking at Pier 59 under command of a harbor pilot, the Olympic was being assisted by twelve tugs when one got caught in the backwash of the Olympic's starboard propeller. The tug was spun around, collided with the bigger ship, and for a moment was trapped under the Olympic's stern, finally managing to work free and limp to the docks.

The Hawke incident

On 20 September 1911, Olympic's first major mishap occurred during a collision with a British warship, HMS Hawke, in which the warship lost her prow. Although the collision left two of Olympic's watertight compartments filled and one of her propeller shafts twisted, she was able to limp back to Southampton. At the resultant inquiry, the Royal Navy blamed Olympic for the incident, alleging that her massive size generated a suction that pulled HMS Hawke into her side. At the helm during this incident was Captain Smith.

The Hawke incident was a financial disaster for White Star, and the out-of-service time for the big liner made matters worse. Olympic returned to Belfast and, to speed up the repairs, Harland and Wolff was forced to delay Titanic's completion, in order to use her propeller shaft for the Olympic.

Back at sea in February 1912, Olympic lost a propeller blade and once again returned to her builder for emergency repairs. To get her back to service immediately, Harland & Wolff yet again had to pull resources from Titanic, delaying her maiden voyage from 20 March to 10 April.

Titanic

White Star's most prized captain was again at the helm of the greatest steamship yet when Titanic left Southampton for her maiden voyage. Although some sources state that Smith had decided to retire after commanding the RMS Titanic on its maiden voyage, an article which appeared in the Halifax, Nova Scotia Morning Chronicle on 9 April 1912 stated that Captain Smith would remain in charge of the Titanic "until the Company (White Star Line) completed a larger and finer steamer".

At 11:40 P.M. on 14 April the Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic. The ship sank two hours and forty minutes later killing an estimated 1,500 people. Smith refused to be rescued and went down with his ship. His body was never recovered.

Trivia

* In the 1997 film Titanic, Captain Edward Smith was portrayed by Bernard Hill. An interpretation of Smith's fate is provided when he calmly remains at the bridge during the ship's final moments as the wheelhouse collapses from the water pressure and floods.
* According to his daughter, Captain Smith loved cigars and the smoke from them. He wouldn't let anyone into his study while he was smoking because he didn't want the ring of smoke to be disturbed.

Sources and references

* Biographical info on Smith
* Source for Smith's first assignment with White Star

External links

* TITANIC - A Voyage of Discovery (captain)
* Captain Smith on Titanic-Titanic.com
* Captain Smith's Memorial on Titanic-Titanic.com

Smith, Edward
Smith, Edward
Smith, Edward
Smith, Edward
Smith, Edward